NorthernLight IRL: Lazier and Oldsmobile Win at PIR

20 March 2000
PHOENIX - Buddy Lazier broke a three-year dry spell with a convincing
victory today in the Indy Racing Northern Light Series MCI WorldCom 200 at
Phoenix International Raceway. Lazier went from last to first, starting his
brand-new Oldsmobile-powered Riley & Scott chassis at the back of the
26-car field. After 200 laps around the low-banked one-mile oval, Lazier
took the checkered flag with a 4.191 second margin of victory over Scott
Goodyear.

    "We've had a long dry stretch, and it feels good to finally bring home
a win," said Lazier, who scored his last IRL victory in Charlotte, N.C.,
in 1997. "I had stomach flu, and it's been a terrible week. We unloaded
this car in pieces last night and the guys put it together - it had never
been driven before this morning's practice. I had no expectations.

    "We had a lot of good luck today," Lazier added. "Everything had to
fall right, because we had a long way to go."

    In addition to luck, Lazier's Hemelgarn Racing Delta Faucet/Coors
Light Riley & Scott also had a 3.5-liter IRL Aurora V8 engine. Lazier
scored Oldsmobile's 31st straight victory as IRL Aurora V8 engines powered
the top nine finishers.

    Runner-up Scott Goodyear relied on an Oldsmobile IRL Aurora V8 built
by Speedway Engine Development in Indianapolis to power his Pennzoil
Panther Racing Dallara - the same shop that supplied Lazier's winning
motor. "He was strong down the straightaways," Goodyear observed. "He has
Speedway engines just like I do, so we didn't have any horsepower
advantage. His car was handling well in the first and second turns, but I
could get through three and four better. It was a case of trying to get the
best out of the car.

    "The motors were strong," Goodyear reported. "We had some new parts
that were pretty aggressive, but the Speedway guys did a great job and the
motor stayed under us all day with no problems."

    Donnie Beechler posted a career-best third-place finish in Cahill
Auto Racing's Big Daddy Specialty Foods Oldsmobile-Dallara. "This is a shot
in the arm for us," said the veteran open-wheel driver. "Larry has given me
the best equipment this year we could possibly have. We switched to
Oldsmobile engines from Comptech. You've got to have the same power the
other guys have. We've got that now and I'm pumped up!"

    Al Unser Jr. led 22 laps in Galles ECR Racing's Ticket.com
Oldsmobile G-Force after starting 20th on the grid. Savvy pit strategy put
Unser on the point, but a caution immediately following his final
green-flag stop cost Unser valuable track position. He finished ninth, the
last driver on the lead lap.

    "The team prepared the car really well and it was spot-on all day,"
said Unser. "We pitted on green, and the yellow came out just as we were
leaving the pits. We led laps, and it was awesome - but I am heartbroken
for my team and sponsors."

    The race was slowed by seven caution periods for a total of 56
laps. Driver Buzz Calkins was admitted to St. Joseph's Hospital in Phoenix
for observation after a single-car accident complaining of back pain. IRL
medical director Dr. Henry Bock reported that preliminary evaluation was
negative.

    The upcoming Las Vegas 500 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on April 22 will
be the final warm-up before the Indianapolis 500 - and the first race for
the new 3.5-liter version of Oldsmobile's undefeated IRL Aurora V8 on a
superspeedway.

RACE SUMMARY:
Track: Phoenix International Raceway, 1-mile oval
Winner: Buddy Lazier, Hemelgarn Racing Delta/Coors Light Oldsmobile-Riley
& Scott
Margin of Victory: 4.191 seconds
Average Speed: 111.957 mph

Top Five Finishers:
Pos./Driver/Engine             Laps
1. Buddy Lazier/Oldsmobile     200
2. Scott Goodyear/Oldsmobile   200
3. Donnie Beechler/Oldsmobile  200
4. Eliseo Salazar/Oldsmobile   200
5. Scott Sharp/Oldsmobile      200

Pole: Greg Ray/Oldsmobile, 176.566 mph
Fastest Lap: Tyce Carlson/ Oldsmobile, 164.782 mph

Manufacturer Results:
          Oldsmobile    Infiniti
Laps Led     187          13
Starters      25           1
Running
at Finish     15           1
Winning Oldsmobile Engine Builder: Speedway Engine Development

POINT STANDINGS:
(After 2 of 10 events)
Driver/Engine         Wins    Points
1. Buddy Lazier/Olds    1      90
2. Robbie Buhl/Olds     1      78
3. Scott Goodyear/Olds  0      72
4. Donnie Beechler/Olds 0      63
5. Eliseo Salazar/Olds  0      62

Manufacturer          Wins    Points
1. Oldsmobile           2      21
2. Nissan               0      14

NEXT RACE:
Las Vegas 500, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, April 22, 2000
TV: ABC, 3:30 p.m. ET